The Human Side of David Axelrod

By Ann Kane

If it weren't so sad, it would be laughable. The present administration treats broadcast news as its own kind of Facebook page where they can write or say whatever they want on their obedient wall. On Sunday night, Katie Couric of 60 Minutes reported on the Axelrod family's journey with epilepsy. David Axelrod used his twenty-eight year old epileptic daughter, Lauren, to show that he is a caring father. His wife, Susan, has started an organization to help fund research on the disease.

This is all very noble, until we look at who the advisor to the president really is: a PR man par excellence. No matter what he says, even lovingly about family members, he will always be under suspicion for promoting a brand. That's just the way it is with professional spinners. So, when the going gets tough for him and the White House, the tough create a soft news story.

How dare he use his daughter's illness to attempt to elicit sympathy from the liberal base, and others? Yet, he wouldn't be worth his salt if he didn't use everyone and everything at his disposal to advance the agenda. How sad for his family that even they have become fair game.